


Behind Bright Eyes

by Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains



Category: Xena: Warrior Princess
Genre: Angst and Humor, Ends up getting darker, F/F, Gen, Post-A Friend In Need, Starts off as humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 07:24:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15019607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains/pseuds/Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains
Summary: Aphrodite needs Ares's help.





	Behind Bright Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not going to try and disguise the fact this fic is a bit of a rollercoaster ride. When I initially began writing it, I was planning to just write a short comedic story starring Ares and Aphrodite. It ended up morphing into something a little different.
> 
> This fic is set roughly ten years after AFIN.

            The doors to the Hall of War blew open with a fearsome grating noise, the type of noise that could only mean trouble.  Ares looked up and was met with a sight familiar to his eyes, one which he had come to view with great apprehension over the years. This was primarily owing from the fact that anytime he was faced with this particular sight, it was a direful auspice.  This hitherto unnamed spectacle was of course none other than his nettlesome sister Aphrodite.

 

            The goddess of love strode confidently into the Hall of War, casting a critical eye over the room.  “Well bro, can’t say I like the new look.  Hasn’t changed much from the old one.  It still has that ‘I’m so angsty and evil’ style to it.  That hasn’t been fashionable in over a decade, you know,” she critiqued.  She raised an eyebrow in a provocative, yet sportive expression.

 

            Ares shared none of her good humor.  He cast a baleful glare towards her, and demanded, “alright sis.  What in my not-so-dear, departed uncle’s name do you want now?  I swear, I can’t have a moment’s peace these days!  Can’t a war deity just have a nice relaxing day once in a while?  You know, topple a kingdom here and there, maybe start a border war or two?  Is that too much to ask?”

 

            Based on Aphrodite’s mien, apparently it was. “Well bro, I would be just as happy to leave you be, trust me.  Unfortunately, life just isn’t that pleasant.”

 

            “You’re telling me sis,” the war god commented, his voice sardonic.

 

            “Well, the sooner we get to why I’m here, the sooner we can both continue with our respective lives.”

 

            “Well then, do tell, do tell,” Ares responded, gesturing for his sister to speak.

 

            “Look bro, I’m going to put it to you plain and simple, no frills or flash.”  Ares looks doubtful at this declaration.  “I’m here because I need your help.”  With this, his countenance shifted from one of doubt, to one of utter disbelief.

 

            “You,” he punctuated this with an accusatory point towards his sister, “want my,” he indicated himself with the thumb of his other hand, “help?”  The tone in which this last came out indicated just how ludicrous he found this idea.  “Now look, I’ll admit, we may have done a few favors for each other in the past, usually out of necessity, but to come to me and try to solicit my help, well that’s just unprecedented.  You must really be up to your neck in the Stymphalian Swamp, eh sis?”  He grinned widely, with slightly less of his customary malice present.  He appeared to be genuinely amused by the situation.

 

            Aphrodite glared at her brother, clearly not finding the same amount of humor in the present circumstance.  “This isn’t a joke bro.  Bliss is missing!”

 

            “Well, you’re right about that, oh lady of love. See, bliss was what I had prior to you barging into my hall.  Now that you’re here, it turned into an obnoxious little finch and fluttered on out the window” he waved goodbye to the proverbial bird "looking for a locale free of love goddesses.  So yes, bliss is gone, and hence, missing.”

 

            This time, Aphrodite’s glower lacked even a scintilla of jocularity.  “Bliss my grandson, your great-nephew, has disappeared!  Vanished!  Without a trace!”

 

            Ares sobered a bit and regarded his sister seriously.  “As in, neither you or any of the other gods can locate him?”

 

            Aphrodite nodded.  “It’s times like these when I miss our parents and siblings the most,” she said sorrowfully.  “I imagine Athena or Artemis would have had no problems finding him.  Bro, I’m not going to lie, besides myself, you’re the most powerful one of us still kicking.  If anyone can find him, you can.”

 

            Ares nodded, his ego stroked substantially by his sister’s latest statement.  “Well, you do have a point,” he remarked arrogantly.  “Tell me one thing though.  Why do you need to find Bliss anyway?  I mean, of course, he’s pretty young in terms of immortality, but he’s capable of taking care of himself these days.  I mean, he must be about forty these days.”

 

            “Bro, you forget how slowly we age.  He might be forty, but he’s not necessarily the most mature individual yet.  He just made it out of divine puberty a couple years ago.  You know, all that wonderful stuff,” she grimaced at this “that I’m sure you have plenty of experience with, right?”  Ares’s eyes narrowed, and he stared at his sister intently. “Oh, and did I mention that he’s also basically the god of lust?”

 

            Ares inclined his head, his interest amplified by this new piece of information.  “Oh really … now that, I didn’t know.  So, what are his powers like?”

 

 Aphrodite was clearly not impressed by Ares’s curiosity, as she dismissed this inquiry laconically, a reaction which was quite uncharacteristic of her.  “That’s not important.”

 

            Ares sighed and rolled his eyes, exasperation regaining its place as his primary sentiment concerning the entirety of the situation. “So, what do you want me to do about all this, hmm?  In case you didn’t already know, love’s not exactly my purview.  Now, lust is a little more in the right direction, but still not my area of expertise.  I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong god.”

  

            “Look bro, you know exactly what I want your help with!” Aphrodite’s eyes bored deep into brother, almost challenging him to attempt to deny her statement.  “Okay, okay.  So, you want to use my scrying mirror, right?  After all, it is the most powerful one that’s still intact these days.” Ares grinned superciliously upon finishing this remark.  This only served to further aggravate the already irate goddess of love.

 

            “Dammit Ares, you know that’s why I’m here!” Aphrodite exclaimed crossly. Before Ares could react to this exclamation, she continued, launching into a veritable tirade.  “You know, there was a time when we could have a decent interaction!  Right now, that’s pretty hard to believe, but you know it’s true.  Not anymore though!  Nowadays, all you do is sit around and mope in your little ‘Hall of War’. So, tell me bro, when was the last time you presided over a war?  When was the last time you gave aid to a brave general?  Destroyed a fleet of invading ships?  Seduced some powerful warrior?  It’s been ten years!  You need to get out of here!  Do something! Anything!  You should thank me for putting something together to try and get you to live!”  She grew silent, realizing that perhaps she had gone too far.

 

            Ares stood up, all assumed airs falling away like a thespian’s mask.  His face was charged with a genuinely fearsome rage, but his eyes told a different story, one of an unspoken sadness.  “Get the fuck out!”  He roared, clenching his fists, which were now aglow with an ultramarine fire.

 

            Aphrodite’s face was suddenly pervaded by a grief akin her brother’s.  She lowered her head, and dematerialized, foregoing the cascade of golden sparkles which typically accompanied this action.

 

            Ares collapsed back onto his thrown, his anger subsiding.  He hunched down and dropped his head into his hands, his face vanishing behind his gauntlets. The doors to the Hall of War swung shut without a sound.  An uncanny quiet suffused the room.  Abruptly, it was broken by the sound of weeping.

 

            Cupid looked up from the table where he and Bliss were sitting, as his mother materialized into the room.  She was turned away from them almost immediately, which led Cupid to hesitantly ask, “mother, is everything alright?”

 

            The love goddess turned back, blinking away tears. In a melancholy tone, she replied, “the plan’s off.”  Without adding any further information, she vanished, this time sans any of her signature sparkles.

  

            Cupid turned to his son, his eyes downcast.  “I was afraid that this wouldn’t work out.” Bliss offered a sympathetic smile in response.  “I’m sorry father.  I wish there was something more we could do.”  Cupid looked up.  “I’m going to go after your grandmother.  It would most likely be best if you stayed here.  I’m not sure how things will go.”  Bliss nodded in acknowledgement of this statement, knowing well his grandmother’s demeanor when she was hurting.  Cupid rose and disappeared in a small, but still shimmering, flurry of golden specks.

 

            Aphrodite stood silently on the hill, looking down on the forest below.  A single tree towered behind her, a solitary sentinel.  It kept its vigil, silent and stately, ever alone.  Gazing down upon the expanse of trees, home to the unified Amazon tribes, she reminisced on the past.  Her tears flowed freely now, gently falling to the rocky ground at her feet. She turned, and looking up, addressed the tree sotto voce.  “You know, I never really understood your whole ‘greater good’ schtick.  Guess it just wasn’t my sort of deal.  I’ve got to say though, right now, it’s really hard to see what in Hades’s name you saw in it, you know that?”  She paused for a moment.

 

“You know, you broke the hearts of two people I love.  One’s my brother, and the other’s my best friend.  Can’t say I’ve experienced the worst of it though, considering one of them wanted to be your lover, and the other one got to be.  I suppose doing things for the greater good doesn’t really yield much in the way of happy endings.  Maybe that’s why I never got on board with it.  Being the goddess of love and all, kind of a big proponent of happy endings myself.”  She grew silent.

 

            Aphrodite felt a presence behind her, and a gentle hand was laid on her shoulder.  “Mother, let’s go home.”  She shook her head, not shifting her stare.  “Not yet.”

 

            A gentle wind blew across the hillside, rustling the leaves of the tree above.  Its vigil was joined, if only for a moment.


End file.
